Become A Financial Planner

The employment prospects are excellent with an expected 147,000 new jobs to be created in the 10 year period between 2006 and 2016.

Looking Out For the Financial Planner Job Outlook

The U.S. Department of Labor reports that as of May 2008 there were 146,690 financial planners employed. They were earning an average salary of $69,050 annually. But more importantly for you as a job seeker is the fact that future employment opportunities abound.

The job outlook for those interested in a financial planning career is great for a number of reasons.

• Breadth of types of jobs financial planners can choose from
• Increasing government regulation making financial planning much more complex for businesses and individuals
• Deregulation of the financial industry allowing banks to offer new financial products to consumers
• Growth in the population group over 50 years old as baby boomers retire
• Increasing complexity of business retirement plans requiring companies to hire financial planners to assists employees with their decision making

The growth in jobs for financial planners is expected to reach 34 percent between 2006 and 2016 according the U.S. Department of Labor. But it would not be surprising if the actual growth rate exceeds that as more and more people plan earlier for retirement and businesses try to manage benefits costs within their organizations in the face of increasing government regulation.

There is one factor though to keep in mind – job competition. The competition for the available jobs could be stiff unless you find a particular specialty that enables you to serve a certain niche.  For example, there are new fields of financial planning that are dedicated to senior citizen or elder care financial advising.  With certification in a particular area you will give yourself a competitive edge.

Adding Up the Education of a Financial Planner

If you are interested in becoming a financial planner then you will need to get a degree to enter the field.  A bachelor’s degree in almost always required to get an entry job as a financial planner today. Though there are some people with years of experience who have worked their way up through the ranks, companies hiring today can be selective about job candidates.  You should earn a bachelor’s degree and even a graduate degree if you really want to present yourself as fully qualified to employers. Your major can be in finance, economics, statistics, mathematics or accounting. Many financial planners obtain a Masters Degree in Business Administration.

Some people specialize during their course of study and complete extra hours of classes concerned with the industry they hope to work in after school or they continue their education even after starting work.

• Financial planning
• Corporate budgeting
• Options pricing
• Risk management
• Retirement planning
• Taxes
• Stocks and securities
• Banking
• Estate planning
• Insurance

For those who want to work in the securities industry, you will need one or more licenses. The license is company sponsored so you will obtain it after employment from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Personal financial planners will need the Series 7 and Series 63 or 66 licenses issued by FINRA before able to give securities investment advice.

• Series 6 exams – leads to certification as an Investment Company Products/Variable Contract Limited Representative
• Series 7 exams – leads to certification as a General Securities Representative

There are also certifications that add to your credentials. You may ask: How do I become a certified financial planner?

You can obtain certification from the National Association of Security Dealers also.

If you want to pursue a career as a financial planner, after obtaining your degree you will want to aim for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.  To get this certification you must have the degree and work 4 years in the field plus pass 3 examinations. The Chartered Financial Institute (CFA) administers the exam.

Two more certifications personal financial advisors obtain are the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC). Becoming a certified financial planner is well worth the effort.

Get Ready, Set, and Go to Be a Financial Planner!

Though most universities have a college of business, there are also colleges with specific programs offering specialized programs for financial planners. You don’t have to get such a specialized degree to become one but it’s worth looking into – especially if you want to sell securities. The certification tests are rigorous and require in-depth knowledge of stock trading, options pricing and so on. To decide if the college or university has the right program to meet your needs, you need to understand the types of duties you will be doing.  They vary between the financial analyst and the personal financial advisor.

The financial analyst works for corporations and industries that have investments to manage on the buy or the sell side. The personal financial advisor works with individuals who need assistance managing their investments or planning for retirement.  Because the financial planner has a wide range of places to seek employment, you can look at many different career paths.

Here is a sample of some of the possible careers in financial planning:

• Securities analyst
• Investment analyst
• Banker
• Self-employed financial planner
• Fund manager
• Insurance specialist
• Institutional investment analysts
• Portfolio manager
• Risk manager
• Ratings analyst
• Wealth manager (private investments)

If you want to become a financial analyst, the program at a college for financial planning should include a heavy concentration in statistics, math, economics, spreadsheets and a variety of financial software programs in addition to the normal business courses.

So now you may ask: How do I become a financial advisor? If you want to be a personal financial advisor, your educational background may be in accounting, economics, or finance also but you will also want to take courses in communication.  Personal financial advisors must be able to explain complicated financial planning concepts and principles to non-financial people.

Related Financial Planning Articles:

• Job Description of a Financial Planner
• What is the Average Salary of Financial Planners